My Coffee Stout was probably as good a beer as I have ever brewed & was polished off at a barbeque last week.   Since I found that The Brew Shop UK in Stockportⁱ sells smoked barley, I wanted to give a smoked beer a go.   Unlike bitterness, there is no way to measure the smokiness of a beer.   To achieve the same level of smoke in each brew a head brewer will taste the finished beer batches and blend them like whisky.   Bearing this in mind I don't know whether my beer will be a subtle like most English smoked beers or over-the-top like a few German Rauchbiers.

This was also a chance to finish up some of the ingredients I bought, as I must stop brewing soon due to another relocation down to the South Coast.

Mash - 1 hour 30mins, 72°C strike temperature then held at 67°C.

1 teaspoon of CaSO₄ (gypsum)

3 Kg smoked malt malt

410g crystal malt

130g chocolate malt

90g of roast barley

Boil 2 hours. (I had trouble getting the temperature to boiling so I left it a little longer than normal)

Goldings hops: 42g at start of the boil.

Northern Brewer hops: 2g at start of boil.

Cascadeⁱ: 20g after 60 mins.

Verdict on bottling: tastes a little thin, definitely a big smoke flavour though - a bit more body would balance that out.  

Verdict after 6 weeks: Doesn't taste thin at all anymore, the smoked flavour isn't as overpowering as feared & doesn't need blending.   A strongly smoked, malty beer that is a good sipper.

Verdict after 7 months: A smooth beer with a gentle bitterness but dominated by the smokiness still.   I have added the last 2 x 2 litres bottles of this to my new beers - Black Magic & Dark Art - to give them a gentle smokey flavour.   Too much smoke is the final verdict on this one.   Maybe only 1Kg of smoked malt next time.